NYT’s Anti-Trans Bias—by the Numbers

NYT Less Interested Than Ever in Trans Perspectives on Trans Issues

Even while feigning concern, the paper of record remains largely uninterested in centering trans people and perspectives in coverage of trans issues.

The New York Times helped fuel an anti-trans panic in 2022. Will 2023 be any better?

Perhaps no mainstream publication did more in 2022 than the New York Times to shift the mainstream conversation around transgender equality away from obstacles to access in housing, employment, and health care and toward the idea that the most pressing issue facing the trans community is actually too much medical care. The paper’s venerable pages featured profile after profile that platformed anti-trans extremists, fearmongered about the price of transgender acceptance, and framed rising trans identification as a social contagion. A recent article that centers the concerns of parents calling for the forced outing of transgender students shows why in 2023, the Times must improve its coverage.

NYT Publishes ‘Greatest Hits’ of Bad Trans Healthcare Coverage

A recent article serves as a greatest-hits album of all of the New York Times’ problematic coverage on adolescent gender-affirming care.

Seen but not heard: The New York Times failed to quote trans people in over 60% of 2023 stories on anti-trans legislation

A new report from Media Matters and GLAAD finds that The New York Times excluded the perspectives of trans people from two-thirds of its stories about anti-trans legislation in the year following public criticism for its handling of the topic. Media Matters previously reported that the Times helped fuel a right-wing anti-trans panic in 2022 by platforming anti-trans extremists, painting rising transgender identification as a social contagion, and fearmongering about the costs of transgender acceptance. In February 2023, the paper received two separate open letters: one from a coalition of 150+ organizations and leaders, including GLAAD, and a separate letter signed by hundreds of Times contributors that criticized the outlet's contributions to a deadly anti-LGBTQ culture war. The newspaper attempted to conflate both efforts, dismissing all criticisms of its coverage as merely “protests organized by advocacy groups.” Between February 15, 2023, when those letters were separately delivered to the Times, and February 15, 2024, the Times published at least 65 articles that mentioned U.S. anti-trans legislation in either their headline or lead paragraphs. We counted how often the paper quoted openly trans or gender-nonconforming sources, cited anti-trans misinformation or talking points without context or adequate fact-checking, and accurately represented the records of anti-trans figures mentioned in its stories. Our findings: 66% of the articles did not quote even one trans or gender-nonconforming person. 18% of the articles quoted misinformation from anti-trans activists without adequate fact-checking or additional context. 6 articles obscured the anti-trans background of sources, erasing histories of extremist rhetoric or actions.

NYT Misses What’s True and Important About an Anti-Trans School Resolution

Like most New York Times articles about trans politics that FAIR has analyzed, the piece marginalized the voices of those most impacted.

Anti-Trans Bills Keep Citing the New York Times

"By any objective measure, the paper seems clearly devoted to advocating against this care."

The New York Times Responds to Criticism of Anti-Trans Bias by Silencing Its Own Reporters

The Times’s coverage reflects its commitment to a flawed version of objectivity that equates balance with accuracy.

The New York Times neglects accountability after letters call out its anti-trans coverage

The New York Times dismissed as advocacy two open letters with now thousands of signatories that raise concerns about the Times’ well-documented role in a burgeoning culture war against transgender people — a charge punctuated by the publication of a new opinion piece defending children’s author J.K. Rowling against accusations of anti-trans hatred.

NY Times cited 29 times to justify decision limiting trans healthcare

Meanwhile, other mainstream media newsrooms treated the U.S. v. Skrmetti case as an opportunity to center coverage around the expected result.

New York Times Sign On Letter | GLAAD

From LGBTQ and allied leaders and organizations Join 100+ organizations and leaders in calling on the New York Times to improve their coverage of transgender people, click here. 4/22/2026 - Mother of Transgender Teen Confronts New York Times Leadership about Inaccurate, Weaponized Reporting of Transgender People: “What Steps Are You Taking to be Accountable?” 6/5/2025

Boycott The New York Times

For years The New York Times has relentlessly pushed anti-trans propaganda, playing a significant role in the escalating genocide against us. It's far past time for a call to action: anyone who cares about trans lives must boycott and divest the Times.

Sorry, Sulzberger—NYT’s Anti-Trans ‘News’ Is Neither True Nor Important

Critics aren't asking the New York Times to "skew" or "censor" its trans-related coverage. We're asking the Times to stop skewing it.

Fact-Checking False Claims about our Gender Identity Coverage | The New York Times Company

A recent post from Trans News Network included numerous falsehoods about New York Times stories on gender identity and maligned some of the journalists involved in the work. Our coverage is guided by…

'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry

In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directed from the very top and the damage this legitimization of bigotry has done